Through a Closed Door
by aehawthorne
Summary: An alternate way for Felicity to have found out about Oliver's plan to propose. Written for the Olicity Hiatus Fic-A-Thon


"I hope you understand how awful your timing was, Speedy," Felicity heard Oliver say through the closed door of his sister's apartment.

"What are you talking about?" Thea replied a moment later. Felicity had only been planning on stopping by to deliver some intel to the Queen siblings, since Dig had told her that this was where they'd be, and then being on her way, but now her curiosity was piqued. Instead of knocking and interrupting the conversation going on on the other side of the door, she edged closer in order to hear better, adjusting her grip on the tablet tucked under her arm as she did so.

"What do you mean, what am I talking about?" Oliver was demanding of his sister when Felicity pressed her ear against the door. He sounded, not angry exactly- she knew what he sounded like when he was angry- but frustrated. Annoyed. "I told you that I was planning on proposing!" Felicity's eyes widened. She bit her lip to hold back a startled gasp. Was that what that dinner had been about, the night Laurel and Thea had showed up to ask for their help?

"You didn't tell me _when_!" Thea said, all but shouting, her tone sharp and cutting. "I'm _so_ sorry the city didn't need your help when it was convenient for you!"

"It's never convenient for me, Thea," Oliver said. His voice was quiet and full of a deep weariness. Felicity had known that he was tired of fighting, of always _having_ to fight, but she hadn't known that it went so deep. "That's not the point. I just...I wish you had called ahead, or something."

"Look, I wanted to, alright?" Thea replied. The sharpness had left her voice. Even if she didn't convey her concern for her brother with words, it was clear in the softness of her tone when she said, "I wanted to call and tell you that we were coming, but Laurel overruled me. She insisted that we had to go _right now_ and there wasn't time to warn you of our arrival.

"I had it all planned out," Oliver said. He wasn't angry or irritated, at least not as far as Felicity could tell. He only sounded mournful. "It's at least a few hours' drive from here to Ivy Town."

"And I was in a car with Laurel the whole time," Thea pointed out. "If an opportunity to call you had presented itself, I would have taken it, trust me. I didn't mean to ruin your proposal."

"I know, Speedy," Oliver said with a sigh. Felicity heard his feet shuffle against the hardwood floor. "It's just...with everything that's going on now, I'm worried that I won't get another chance."

"I'm sure that won't be the case, Ollie," Thea reassured him. "Another chance will come around eventually. You'll see." Their conversation was clearly coming to an end, and Felicity felt that now was an appropriate time to announce her presence. She stepped back from the door and knocked on it once, twice, three times in rapid succession. Two sets of footsteps approached the door, but it was Thea who opened it. Standing next to his sister, Oliver's shoulders were tense, and he wouldn't meet Felicity's eyes. All she could think of in that moment was how edge he'd been during their last night in Ivy Town, even before the arrival of Thea and Laurel. Now, it seemed, she knew why.

"Felicity," Thea said. "What brings you by?" Felicity knew that she'd come here to deliver intel, that she was supposed to giving them the new information, measly though it was, that she'd gotten about the Ghosts, but the only words that came out of her mouth were "You were going to propose?"

Thea's eyes widened. Her gaze flicked sideways toward Oliver, who stiffened. He started stammering, clearly struggling to string words together into a coherent sentence that explained his actions.

"This sounds like a conversation we should have inside," Thea said hastily, shoving Oliver backward. She grabbed Felicity by the arm, pulled her inside, and closed the door behind her.

"I say again, you were going to propose?" Felicity asked, feeling a little more capable of coherent thought now, rounding on Oliver. Her voice sounded shrill, even to her own ears. She wasn't angry, she didn't think. She didn't know _what_ she was, but she knew it wasn't that.

"How much of that did you hear?" Oliver asked, wincing.

"Enough," Felicity replied bluntly. There was a long pause where the only thing she could do was wait for a response. Oliver sighed, his shoulders slumping.

"Yes," he said. "I was going to propose."

"During our last night in Ivy Town?" Felicity asked. "Is that what that dinner was about?" Oliver nodded.

"So, what?" Felicity asked, hurt creeping into her voice without her meaning for it to. "Your plans got ruined and you decided that I just wasn't worth the effort anymore?" Tears pricked her eyes. Apparently, she was more upset about this than she'd thought.

"No, Felicity, it wasn't that," Oliver said, shaking his head vigorously. "It _isn't_ that. I just…"- He paced in a circle, running a hand through his hair- "With everything that's been going on since we got back, the Ghosts and the issues with the team and you being so busy at Palmer Tech, it's- the timing isn't right. _Hasn't_ been right."

"Well, I've heard worse excuses," Felicity said quietly. Mentally, she added, _From you, especially._

"I assume you came by to deliver intel?" Thea interjected, clearly trying to defuse the situation. Felicity nodded, grateful for the distraction. She explained the new development with the Ghosts, which didn't take long, as there wasn't much to add to what they already knew. She could sense how frustrated Oliver and Thea were by the fact that they kept running into walls were the Ghosts were concerned. Felicity would have been lying if she'd said that she didn't share their frustration.

"Just for the record," she said on her way out the door, leveling her gaze on Oliver so there could be no doubt who her words were meant for. "I would have said yes."


End file.
